"This individual has asserted that in the past he has participated in an execution, and that he intends to do so (again) in the future," Mittman said. "On that basis, there is sufficient evidence for the ABA to suspend (his) certification."

The state has chosen not to publicly identify the anesthesiologist in question, referring to him only as "M3."

"Based on...the apparent desire of this anesthesiologist to flout the professional rules of his certifying organization, we have notified the ABA of this fact and are hopeful that they will suspend (his) licensing, pending a hearing to determine what's going on," Mittman said.

Earlier this month the Missouri Supreme Court set execution dates, on October 23rd and November 20th, respectively, for Allen Nicklasson and Joseph Franklin, who were both convicted of murder in separate cases.

Nicklasson was found guilty in the 1994 murder of Richard Drummond, a "Good Samaritan" who had offered to give Nicklasson a ride at his broken-down automobile on I-70. Nicklasson was convicted of being the trigger-man -- his associate, Dennis Skillicorn, was executed in 2009 for his role in Drummond's death.

Franklin was convicted in 1997 of fatally shooting Gerald Gordon at a St. Louis-area synagouge. He's also been found guilty of murders in Utah and Wisconsin, and has claimed responsibility for shooting Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt.

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Several states are dealing with a shortage of lethal injection drugs and have had problems getting enough to carry out executions. In Georgia, lawmakers passed a measure that makes information about where the state got its supply a secret.

The Lethal Injection Secrecy Act says that the identity of people or companies that manufacture, supply or prescribe drugs used in executions is a state secret. But attorneys for death row inmate Warren Lee Hill are challenging the state over whether that law is constitutional.

Attorney General Chris Koster says Missouri may have to resort to using the gas chamber to carry out death sentences as an "unintended consequence" of the state Supreme Court's refusal to set execution dates.

Executions have been on hold in Missouri since the state Supreme Court has declined to set execution dates. The court says execution dates would be "premature" until a federal legal challenge is resolved regarding the use of the drug propofol as Missouri's new execution method.

Missouri is the first state in the nation to change its protocol for executing prisoners from a three-drug cocktail to the single drug Propofol. The switch is due to a shortage of a key drug, which has stalled lethal injections across the country.

Other states may eventually follow Missouri’s lead, but as St. Louis Public Radio’s Joseph Leahy reports, the drug known recently for killing pop star Michael Jackson is no silver bullet either.

On March 1, Missouri’s supply of a key execution drug expired. The sole U.S. manufacturer has stopped making the drug, sending the state on a quest to find more. The federal government does not have any reserves and is currently undertaking a review of what they call a critical shortage.

As St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie Bierach reports, Missouri has another option. It could follow the lead of Ohio and Oklahoma and switch drugs.